


Be Careful

by DegrassiFanatic



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28065642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DegrassiFanatic/pseuds/DegrassiFanatic
Summary: “I’m always careful.” he answers with a small laugh.“My heart nearly fell out of my chest when I saw you covered in blood.” Morgana retorts as she goes to dip the rag into the bowl of water nearby, “I think you’re going to kill me before Uther will have the chance.”At her little joke, Merlin grows tense from where they are pressed up against each other and Morgana knows she’s gone too far with her comment.
Relationships: Merlin & Morgana (Merlin)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Be Careful

**Author's Note:**

> you'd think after realizing gen fics don't do well, i would stop but no, here i am

Through the window in Morgana’s chambers, the last bit of light dies down as the sun begins to set. Morgana’s sitting next to Merlin on the bed. Their knees knocking against each other. Her sleeves are rolled down to her elbows as she takes a damp rag to dab at the spots of blood littering Merlin’s pale face. One hand cradles the back of his head to keep him steady, while the other focuses on ridding the dried blood from his features. Guilt churns in her stomach every time he lets out a wince. His hands are clenched into little fists that rest atop of his thighs. 

Usually, Gauis would be the one to wash off the blood from Merlin’s face but today he was gone to the town to take a look at a patient of his. The two of them were forced out of Merlin’s rooms and into Morgana’s, as Arthur had a penchant for stalking into his chambers without notice but, he cared for his life far too much to do the same with Morgana’s quarters.  They could deal without the bouts of questioning that were surely to come up if Arthur saw the state of Merlin. 

“You have to be more careful.” Morgana admonishes softly, as she tips his head back to clean the deep scratch on his skin. 

The scratch had come from the claw of a magical beast that Morgana cannot recall the name of. The creature had been spotted by some citizens on the outer edges of the forest and the group of people had come rushing down to the court the very next hour. In that time, Uther had ordered Arthur and his men to ride out the next morning to slay the creature. 

Merlin, as it seemed, had decided to rid the beast on his own. After pulling Morgana into a hidden alcove, he had told her of his plans and begged her to cover for him. Sighing, Morgana relented. Though she didn’t want him to go alone, she knew she could not go with him; the King’s ward disappearing would surely sound the bells. If some weak lies about herb picking was what Morgana could do to help, she would do it without hesitation. 

Merlin told her that he was going out before Arthur because he didn’t want to endanger the prat’s life nor did he want to risk revealing magic but Morgana knew the truth. Soft hearted fool he was, Merlin didn’t want the beast to die, not if it didn’t have to. 

“I’m always careful.” he answers with a small laugh. 

“My heart nearly fell out of my chest when I saw you covered in blood.” Morgana retorts as she goes to dip the rag into the bowl of water nearby, “I think you’re going to kill me before Uther will have the chance.”

At her little joke, Merlin grows tense from where they are pressed up against each other and Morgana knows she’s gone too far with her comment. 

“I’m sorry.” she apologizes as she wipes away the blood smeared underneath his eye, “I shouldn’t have joked about that.”

“It’s fine.” Merlin replies as he forces a smile onto his face, “Just a joke.”

“Still.”

After a few more seconds, Merlin’s face is clean of blood. Morgana sets aside the rag and takes a hold of Merlin’s dirtied hands. She guides them into the bowl of water. Her own fingers scrubbing at the dirt lodged beneath his nails and the blood staining his skin. 

“Do you think it’ll ever get better?” Merlin asks.

Morgana is seconds away from asking what he’s referring to when the realization dawns on her. Her fingers stall against where they were cleaning Merlin’s own. 

“Yes.” she answers quietly after some time, “Everything will be okay once Arthur is the King of Camelot.”

It’s the truth. 

For all of Arthur’s arrogance, ill manners, and downright abusive tendencies, he was one of the most noble men Morgana had ever met. Trust and loyalty had to be earned, and so far Morgana had only found four people in her life deserving of it; Arthur being the first of them. Morgana had faith in the man he was and the man he would become. She had faith that he would save a future that she and Merlin and many others had long declared dismal.

She’d never tell any of this to his face, though. 

“Do you really think he will uplift the ban on magic?” he asks as Morgana begins to clean his hands once more. 

“For you,” she says, “Arthur would do anything.”

At her words, Merlin ducks his head down, embarrassed. Through the wisps of dark hair, she can see the red flush painting his cheeks and it makes laughter erupt from her chest. 

A powerful sorcerer reduced to a blushing mess at the mention of his prince’s (friend’s? partner’s?) affections for him.

It was adorable. 

“He would do anything for you too.” he says.

There was no doubt in her mind about Arthur loving her. They were brother and sister in all but name and blood. Morgana remembers the first few weeks after arriving in Camelot where Arthur would sneak into her chambers late at night to stave away the nightmares that would plague her sleep. 

Wistfully, Morgana tries to remember when the two of them had grown up and grown apart. 

Still, no matter how much Arthur loved Morgana, he wouldn’t overturn laws for her. 

For Merlin, though? Arthur wouldn’t question it. 

Arthur disobeys his father for Merlin. He lies to his father for Merlin. Arthur has and will kill for Merlin. He counts the days that have passed since he’s seen Merlin smile. Arthur goes against everything he’s learned about protocol and etiquette to take a stroll down with his manservant in the lower towns just to see him happy. 

If Merlin asked him to build him a kingdom of his own, Arthur would have it down before sundown. 

“I know.” she responds as she takes Merlin’s hands out of the now pink water.

As Merlin opens his mouth to say something in return, a rapid knocking at the door interrupts him. Whoever is on the other side doesn't bother to wait for any sort of affirmation or permission, and simply pushes open the door.

Both Merlin and Morgana scrambled to put an appropriate amount of distance between them so an outsider cannot misconstrue their actions. As Morgana rushes to hide the bowl of water and the bloodied rag, Arthur walks into the rooms. His eyes immediately zero in on the sight of Merlin and Morgana standing together, in front of the bed. 

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Morgana chastises as she fumbles with the rag behind her back, “I could have been changing.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Arthur asks as he folds his arms across his chest.

“No!” both Merlin and Morgana shout in response. 

Their reactions do nothing to put a rest to whatever suspicions Arthur is harboring. Without another word, Morgana watches as he takes a step closer to the two of them before hauling Merlin by the collar away from her and towards the door. 

“The next time the two of you want to participate in an illicit affair, lock your quarters.” Arthur hisses as he shoves Merlin out of the door and into the hallway outside. 

Even as the doorjamb clicks shut, Morgana can hear the argument stewing outside of her quarters. She lets out a deep sigh. 

Morgana has a lot of explaining to do to Gwen. 

**Author's Note:**

> leave a kudo or a comment bitches. and come visit me at degrassi-fanatic on tumblr


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